In less than a year, Natalie Imbruglia has managed to vault from obscurity to pop stardom in the States with her rendition of "Torn," and now faces the formidable task of following up that success.

While many might view the task as being especially daunting, the actress-turned-singer says she's up to the challenge.

I think the whole project from day one has been a little bit daunting," Imbruglia told MTV News of the perceived pressure she faces in following up "Torn.

That's the exciting thing about it though, because there's constantly a new challenge. There's something else a little bit more scary coming up. I think it's how you look at it. I mean, I could look at it in the sense of 'Torn's' been so successful and now I have so much to live up to,' or I could think, 'Well, better than having no success with Torn at all.' Really, the glass is half-empty or half-full. I tend to be a bit pessimistic, but it's all good. I can't complain.

No, Imbruglia's not about

to start bemoaning the pitfalls of pop stardom, thank you very much. Instead, she has focussed her attention on trying to maintain that lofty perch, and is hoping that her new video, [article id="1445847"]"Wishing I Was There" [450k QuickTime][/article] (which premiered on MTV last week), will help her do so.

The video was shot by Matthew Rolston," Imbruglia explained to MTV News this week. "I was actually doing a photo shoot with him and loved his pictures so much, and had the idea because we wanted to re-shoot the video for America. [article id="1445849"]It's a combination of performance and vignettes to reflect what the song is about to me. It's a song about falling in love [500k QuickTime][/article], the side of you that's vulnerable, 'Please don't hurt me,' and then the side which is really tough, 'You can't hurt me.' So it's reflecting that.

While other artists may look towards video-making as one of the more painful occupational hazards

they face, Imbruglia is more than comfortable with her time in front of the camera courtesy of her acting experience.

It actually helps a lot," Imbruglia said of how her acting background has prepared her for making videos. "I love it. I eat it up. It's my chance to do little bit of acting.

She's apparently quite good at it as well; her clip for "Torn" garnered two MTV Video Music Award nominations for "Best Female Video" and "Best New Artist In A Video.

Recently the Australian songbird has taken her act to a more direct venue, the stage. Imbruglia mounted a two-week European tour this summer, making for her first such outing. She told MTV News that she hopes to put together a U.S. tour before the year is over, but that nothing has been worked out yet.